Post date: May 30, 2017 7:09:34 PM
Looking at the combined 82-acre campus of the three schools united under the banner of “Iona,” no one would guess that they had their humble beginnings with only 37 students.
The founding of a Christian Brothers’ School in New Rochelle was inevitable. By the early 1900s they were renowned throughout Westchester County, and by 1915 a group of brothers had already established a small vocational school. In October 1916, after appealing to Br. J.C. Whitney, the superior general, and gaining the support of Archbishop Cardinal Farley, the Iona School officially opened under the leadership of Br. Joseph I. Doorley.
Patrick M. Quinn, a brother and teacher at the Iona school said, “Br. Doorley made sure that the boys received a well-balanced Christian education and that they were educated as gentlemen.” The Iona School also stressed educating all the aspects of a young man as indicated by Br. Quinn’s words: “For my part, in addition to being Iona’s first baseball coach, I also taught the boys dancing: the jig, the hornpipe, the reel, and the highland fling.”
In testament to its stellar academics, the fledgling Iona School had outgrown its original campus in just three years. By providence alone, Br. Doorley noticed a for sale sign on the Hall Estate on North Avenue while on a walk in the Beechmont area of New Rochelle. The price was $80,000. Michael Jennings, a New Rochelle native, generously provided a $25,000 loan, and Br. Whitney gave the okay to purchase the property. In 1920, the new campus was opened to students.
In 1926, new challenges faced the Iona School when Br. Doorley, who has resigned as head master in 1922, officially left the school. Luckily, Br. Michael S. Tuohy quickly rose to the challenge. He began a trend of expanding upon the school grounds, such as when he built the new Doorley Hall. Following his lead, Br. Charles S. McManus, who became headmaster in 1928, built the Harris gym and various fields behind the main estate.
In 1934, the Iona School received its first headmaster who was not part of the existing faculty. Br. Alphonsus L. Pakenham, who had previously worked on the island of Gibraltar, turned out to be just what the school needed. Realizing that science and technology were the keys to gaining an edge over rival schools, Br. Pakenham launched a campaign to raise $100,000 to build a new science building.
With only 40% of the goal collected, construction on the science building broke ground in 1939. Completed on schedule, the new building was dedicated on June 9, 1940. Much to everyone’s surprise this new building was never dedicated to science; instead, it was dedicated to the opening of the Iona College!
This change of plan was a surprise even to Br. Pakenham himself, who had only been notified of the change a month before when Br. William B. Cornelia of Halifax, Canada, received permission from Archbishop Francis J. Spellman to open a college in in the New York diocese. Today this building is known as Cornelia Hall.
The establishment of Iona College symbolized the strength of the Iona Schools. Even through wartime years the school continued to grow in size and academic and athletic reputation, establishing itself as a fierce competitor. By 1946, 523 students were enrolled in the Iona schools.
Despite the Iona School’s strength during this time, a distinct schism was beginning to divide Iona Grammar and Iona Prep, which began to go by these two separate names as early as 1940. Since Iona Prep had moved across the campus in 1950 to Hagan Hall, the two schools had begun to establish distinct educational methods and goals. As a result, Iona Grammar moved to Stevens Estate on Stratton Road in 1954. Eight years later, Iona Prep moved to its campus on Wilmot and Stratton roads to allow for further expansion.
-Michael Bachmann